


Dantescan Coffee

by deviantgumiho



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Dantescan situation, Fluff, M/M, Markus loves lofi Markus loves simon, badly concealed projection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 16:31:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20678465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deviantgumiho/pseuds/deviantgumiho
Summary: Dantescan: adj. of or relating to Dante Alighieri or his writings. The Divine Comedy, Canto V, tells the story of two lovers falling for each other while reading a book together.Markus couldn't pass on that assignment, it was a great opportunity to boost his score. But in order to do that he had to get a hold of the books to work with first - if only they weren't already booked by the same guy he was now tailing around the campus.





	Dantescan Coffee

“This concludes today’s lecture but before I dismiss the class,” Professor Parker paused, leaning on the dark wood desk that was ridiculously too spacious for the professor’s few belongings “there’s an extra assignment. I would like you to analyse Gewirth’s  _ The Basis and Content of Human Rights,  _ try to find the structure of his argument on human rights.”

“Then, I want you to go over Griffin’s  _ First Steps in an Account of Human Rights  _ and find the relation between his philosophical account of human rights and positive human rights.”

“Last but not least, I’d like you to compare the two authors, focusing on the relation between ideas of the good and ideas of the right and find the main similarities and differences on their account of human rights. For those of you who seek extra credits, deadline is in two weeks. Class dismissed”

The religious silence that reigned before, broke into a buzzing cluster of students gathering their belongings, some talking about plans and whatnots, others about Mr. Parker’s assignment. 

“How the hell am I supposed to do all that in two weeks? I’m so gonna fail this class.”

“I might have to push back my schedule because of this. This better be worth it.”

“No, I’m not doing it. I’m already packed, I don’t think I can squeeze it in — not without losing my sanity. Plus I’m already content with my current score.”

Markus sat at his usual spot, still. Hunched over the desk, head between his hands as he stretched his neck. He straightened up, stretching his arms upwards as much as he could. His back cracking after a long time spent hunched over, before he deflated, his whole body feeling more relaxed. 

He quickly gathered his belongings and headed out, towards the college bookstore. Markus wasn’t going to pass up on that assignment, he really needed those extra credits. The sooner he could start, the better. 

There were four bookstores on campus and he went in all of them, asking for the books he needed for the assignment, and none of them had them. He was desperate and pretty bummed out when he went back to the dorms. It seemed that Lady Luck had turned her back on him for now. 

“Why the long face, Markus?” Josh, his roommate, asked as soon as he saw Markus closing the door behind him. 

“Just got a pretty tough assignment and I can’t find the books to work with” he shrugged, dropping his backpack on the floor before slumping on the couch “Believe me when I tell you that I searched in every bookstore around here.”

Josh grabbed two cans of energy drink from the fridge and went to join his friend, offering him one and Markus gladly accepted. 

“Have you tried the college library?” Josh asked “They surely must have it.”

Markus almost slapped his forehead at his own stupidity. Why didn’t he think of that? 

“Oh you’re right. I really didn’t think of the library, at all!” He set the half empty can on the coffee table and stood up “I’m gonna go check over there, then. Thanks, Josh” 

“No problem, pal” he nodded. 

Markus retrieved his backpack again and headed for the door. On his way to the library, he quite literally ran for it. He didn’t have much time and wanted to get started as soon as possible. 

The library was quiet, with a few students roaming between the massive bookshelves, scanning through countless books and articles. Markus headed straight for the information desk, questioning about the damn books he was so desperately trying to find. 

Apparently, Lady Luck hadn’t completely turned her back on him after all. They had the materials he was looking for. Markus thanked the librarian and quickly made his way towards the section of bookshelves about international law studies.

Maybe too quickly — because he ended up bumping on a student, causing the other to drop the books he was carrying and earning a scowl from the librarian. Markus could feel their gaze burning a hole into the back of his skull. 

“Oh god, I’m sorry” Markus quickly kneeled down to pick the books, erratically gathering them before handing them to their owner.

The other didn’t even get the chance to thank him properly because Markus was already gone, a pair of blue eyes looking at his back, confused, as he made his way down the corridor. The student shrugged and turned on his heels, back to checking out his books.

Markus, on the other hand, was cursing under his breath.

The damn books weren’t there. No matter how much he scanned the bookshelf, he couldn’t see nor Gewirth or Griffin. Markus made his way back to the info desk.

“Excuse me but... the books aren’t there.”

“Gewirth and Griffin, right? I’m sorry but the student you’ve bumped into just checked them out, you’ll be able to pick them up when he returns them.”

The guy he bumped into before, he had the books. Markus barely rushed a thank you before speed walking towards the doors of the library. He pushed them open, got out just in time to catch a glimpse of Griffin’s book being stuffed into a dark blue backpack. 

Before Markus could say anything, the guy put on his headphones and walked away. Markus followed suit, a few steps away from him. What was he going to tell him once he caught up? Certainly he couldn’t just ask to lend him the book — or could he? Maybe he could appeal to his pity and tell him that he really needs those books- no, too desperate. Markus was indeed hopeless but not that much. He told himself not to worry, he’ll surely come up with something. 

Eventually the tailing led him to a little cafe not far from the library. Markus waited a bit before heading inside. 

The atmosphere inside the cafe was warm and inviting, emphasised by the warm tones of the decor ranging from dark browns to muted beige. A chill instrumental song was softly playing on the background. Markus could smell freshly brewed coffee in the air as he scanned the place for the dark blue backpack and its owner. Luckily for him, the cafe wasn’t as packed as the other ones on campus.

Then he saw him.

There, in the farthest corner of the cafe, was sitting the owner of the dark blue backpack. Markus slowly made his way up to him. 

The guy was leaning forward with his elbows on the table, a cup of warm coffee in his hands and head slightly tilted on the side. His eyes were low, focused on the first pages of Gewirth’s manuscript. 

Markus hesitated as he got closer “H-hey”

The other guy flinched slightly, startled by the sudden interruption. He looked up, blue eyes stared at Markus at first confused, then they seemed to recognise him.

“Oh, it’s you again. Can I help you with something?” The guy smiled as he leaned back into the chair. 

“I, huh… I was actually hoping if…” Markus scratched the back of his neck as he tried to find the right words “well, the thing is that you have two books I really need and it’s an emergency because I don’t have much time and I was hoping you could lend them to me — at least until I’m done with the assignment” Markus mentally slapped himself. 

The other glanced down at the book in front of him and raised his eyebrows after a realisation hit him “It’s about Mr. Parker’s assignment, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, how did you know…” his voice trailed off, both of them coming to the same conclusion.

“I’m attending his class as well,” the other gave him a soft smile and shrugged “thought I could raise my score with this assignment. I’m Simon, by the way.” He smiled, offering his hand which Markus shook, smiling back.

“Markus.”

Simon then invited him to sit down with him. They talked about the course, mostly comparing their own experiences and difficulties. 

It was Markus that eventually decided to tackle the main issue there — the books. 

“What are we going to do with the books?” Markus asked, nodding to the side of the table where Simon had moved them.

“Well, since we’re basically working on the same assignment,” he paused “how about we help each other. We could fill each other’s gaps when needed.”

Markus thought about it for a moment, head tilting slightly to side. Surely that could be handy for him, plus it could cut down so many hours of work as well — as well as the fact that Simon’s kind offer held no malice behind it.

“That’d be nice,” Markus gave him a large, crooked smile “thanks, Simon.”

“No worries,” Simon’s smile was warm and extended to his eyes “I’d say we could meet up here after lectures. Is it okay for you?”

“Yeah, sure!” Markus nodded “Let’s exchange numbers, so we can keep in touch even outside of Mr. Parker’s class.”

They saved each other’s numbers. 

The two would then meet nearly every day after the last lecture. Sadly, there was little that Markus could do for Simon since the latter had little to no difficulty in that course, but he was nonetheless very kind and willing to help Markus when needed. As Markus predicted, the two full weeks of work he would’ve gotten, had he worked alone, reduced to merely six days thanks to Simon’s help.

Six days weren’t really a lot, but it was enough for Markus and Simon to develop some kind of friendship and for Markus to understand why Simon loves that little cafe so much — it was like a calm and cozy little oasis. A nice change compared to the other larger and busier cafes on campus, constantly buzzing with chattering students. 

They kept hanging out even after finishing and turning in their assignment. Markus decided to introduce him to his friends as well — the rest of his friends being his roommate Josh and North, his childhood friend. Both of them were very welcoming towards the new addiction to the team and Markus noticed how well balanced his group was now, with him and Simon being the calmer duo while the other two were the energetic ones. 

Their joined efforts eventually repaid them with a score above their own expectations. It was something that called for a celebration. 

Josh had decided to throw a little party at their dorm to celebrate — a party that consisted of just the four of them playing board games until late. 

“Alright, we’re gonna test our bond tonight,” Josh declared, setting on the table a stack of cards “starting with UNO”

“Really, Josh?” North rolled her eyes “you’re so lame and predictable.” she shook her head and smirked.

“Not to mention the fact that you’re trash at it.” Markus joked, earning a glare from his roommate to which he winked in response. 

“That’s impossible,” Simon added, reaching for his hand of cards as Josh continued distributing them “how can you suck at UNO?”

“I don’t… I just have bad cards, that’s it.” Josh sat back as he examined his current cards. 

“Bad cards on every single game?” North smirked, setting down her first card to start the game “Just say you suck and go home.” 

The teasing continued for a while, much to Josh’s expense. 

Despite the fact that their gathering wasn’t really what their fellow students would call a proper party, they were having fun, particularly Simon, and Markus could see that. He could see that Simon was no longer holding himself back and that warmed his heart. 

Markus and Simon often hanged out alone. Either at their favourite cafe or on the floor of Simon’s dorm room, listening to lofi and jazzy tunes. Talking about everything and nothing at the same time. Markus wasn’t surprised at how stupidly intelligent Simon was but he certainly didn’t expect a person of his depth to appreciate some zero-braincell-level meme North had sent on their groupchat. 

Markus felt he could really connect with Simon. He really liked how they could crack a joke and a second later have a serious conversation, sometimes they even continued whatever debate was started during Mr. Parker’s class. He really felt at ease with him.

As time passed, Markus couldn’t help but notice more and more tiny details about Simon. Like the way his eyebrows pushed together ever so slightly when he was concentrated enough. Or how the corners of his mouth would curl up when Simon was relaxing, listening to his favourite songs. Or even how his eyes would light up with curiosity whenever some new topic was being introduced, a spark bringing to life a sunny day over the ocean in his eyes. Sometimes Markus would look Simon straight in his eyes while they were talking and wonder if it would be possible for him to drown inside them.

At that point it was clear as the day that Markus fell head over heels for Simon, but he wasn’t sure. 

Markus was scared, a million questions filled his mind, second guessing whatever he felt. He was scared that, had he come forward with his feelings, Simon would reject him. He was scared that his deep feelings for the other boy could possibly ruin their friendship. 

Markus was scared to lose him.

His doubts and fears started to affect how he behaved around Simon too, as he grew more and more awkward around him, not really knowing how to look at him without feeling the urge to pour his heart out.

“It’s nothing, I’m just… thinking about an assignment, that’s all” was how he’d dismiss any of his friends when they’d catch him looking lost and miserable. 

He even tried to completely avoid him, uselessly trying to fill his mind with whatever he could fill it with — from actual useful lecture notes to some other notions he would’ve only crossed path with in the next semester, to the point of not even understanding what the hell he was doing anymore.

Somehow, it worked. Although, not for long. Markus thought he fooled everyone, including Simon but that was just a lie he liked to tell himself and the proof of his utter failure came in the form of a text from the latter. Simon wasn’t stupidly intelligent for nothing after all. 

_ “Meet me at the park, we need to talk”.  _

Markus found himself reading over and over again those nine words — the format of which arose even more anxiety in him — without really unlocking his phone. The text came in around 3 PM. It was now half past three, meaning that Markus had spent the past thirty minutes, going over every possible situation. A knot of nervousness growing more uncomfortable by the hour. Eventually, he took a deep breath as he grabbed his keys and headed out of the dorm. 

Finding Simon was easy, mostly due to the fact that that section of the park that stood in the middle of the campus was a little grassy area, which was usually frequented by students who preferred to study outside rather than confining themselves pithing the walls of their rooms. 

Simon was sitting on one of the many stone benches, next two him there were two cups of iced coffee. He constantly switched his attention to his phone, at first, then to his surroundings. Markus knew he was looking for him. 

Markus swallowed dryly, his heart threatening to leave his chest. He took a deep breath. 

“Simon!” He called out and Simon turned towards the source of the voice, smiling and waving. 

“I was starting to think you stood me up,” Simon chuckled “here, thought you’d like something to drink.” He smiled, handing Markus the cup with his name on it. 

“Thanks, that’s nice of you.” Markus smiled.

The two sat down in silence, Markus was so tense that he couldn’t bring himself to calm down and act normal. Little did he know that neither Simon was feeling at ease in that moment. 

The silence would’ve been almost deafening, had it not been for the birds chirping, students walking by and the music faintly blasting from an opened window of someone’s room. Markus was the first one to break the ice with some trivial discussion, like the current weather, or how the coffee tasted better warm and in a ceramic cup.

Simon tried to keep the conversation going as well but the awkwardness was too much to bear and they both knew that sooner or later, the confrontation was inevitable.

“Actually, Markus…” Simon started, his eyes darkened with worry “may I know why have you been avoiding me recently? Have I said or done anything that might’ve disturbed you?” Simon’s voice was painfully faint and Markus could feel the fear behind his words. It hurt him to know that Simon thought he could be the cause for Markus’ distance. He was indeed the cause, in a way, but certainly not in a negative way.

“What? No! No, absolutely not. You did nothing wrong it’s just…” Markus paused. He needed to find the right words, everything would depend on what words he’d chose and how he’d phrase them “…I’ve been feeling in some kind of way lately.”

Simon simply looked at him, his gaze soft as if trying to get him to talk, to tell him what was going on inside his head. 

“You see, I’m scared” Markus looked down, wiping away the droplets of condensation from his cup “I’m scared about what I’m feeling. I know it hasn’t been long since we met but… Simon I want you to know that… I’m really at ease and particularly happy when I’m around you.”

“I’m happy that we can share so many things and believe me when I say there must be something special between us considering how fast we’ve bonded.” Markus still didn’t have the guts to look up, fearing that Simon could read through him, fearing to see the rejection form behind his ocean eyes. 

“I like how you make me feel but… I’m so scared. I’m so scared that what I feel might ruin this precious thing we have and I’m scared that if I told you right away I might lose you” he paused “that’s why I tried to avoid you and play distant…”

Markus took a deep breath.

“…W-what I’m trying to say… I like you, Simon. And I might see you more than just a friend.” There. He said it and he felt like throwing up. Slowly, Markus raised his gaze, ready to meet Simon’s eyes, probably full of pity and who knows, maybe disgust? Maybe Markus had misread Simon’s attentions, maybe that was just him being nice?

But Simon’s eyes were wide, almost surprised. Markus didn’t know how to decipher his gaze. If only Simon said something. Markus begged him to say anything with his eyes but Simon just sat there, silently looking at him with his mouth slightly ajar, just enough to reveal a glimpse of his white frontal teeth. 

“Simon, please say anything I- “ Markus begged before interrupting himself and freezing on the spot as Simon threw his arms around him and burying his face in the crook of his neck. 

“Simon, I…”

“Shh, don’t say anything else.” Simon said almost in a whisper. 

Markus could feel the smile in his voice and slowly wrapped his arms around Simon too, closing his eyes and basking in the realisation of the feelings that the other was trying to convey through this gesture. 

“I’m glad to find out that my feelings are reciprocated.” Simon sighed.

“And I’m glad you got those books before I could.”

  
  



End file.
